Ohio State center Jared Sullinger shot 11 free throws in Thursday night’s victory over Michigan, only the seventh time in 23 games he has reached the double-figure mark in attempts from the line.

Buckeyes coach Thad Matta is concerned about this. He's not not making it entirely clear whether he’d like to see Sullinger shoot more foul shots or absorb fewer fouls, but go with the latter.

Matta compares the situation to when he coached Greg Oden four years ago:

“It’s like a Big Ten coach told me after Oden left: ‘We told our guys foul him every single time. They won’t call every one.’”

Those were the comments he made to the collected media following the game, as reported by the Columbus Dispatch. To ESPN, which televised the Michigan game, Matta said, “It’s getting ridiculous out here, and what they’re doing to him is crazy.”

Sullinger has eight Big Ten games remaining in his season, perhaps his career, plus however many games the Buckeyes can last in the Big Ten Tournament in early March.

The number of free throws Sullinger accumulates on a given night is having little impact on whether the Buckeyes win (every time) or lose (so far, never). Matta would appear more concerned with whether the constant, aggressive double-teams might lead to an accident that affects Sullinger’s ability to perform in March.

As we saw with Kyrie Irving, physical contact is not required for a debilitating injury to occur. But it doesn’t hurt.